There are more things in heaven and earth

July 16, 2011

"Fat, sick, and nearly dead"

That's the name of a documentary I somehow happened upon on Netflix instant play. It starts out a little slow, but the second half features an extraordinary story of a seriously obese truck driver who turns his health (and his life) around completely.

Yes, the documentary is based around a "fad" diet of 100% raw juices, but they don't suggest people do this forever. They suggest that people do a "re-boot" of several days, or longer if so desired. Both the guys in the documentary did this with medical supervision for 60+ days, and had no adverse reactions. All the results were extremely positive.

The food options for most Americans are overwhelmingly unhealthy. Even the "not from concentrate" OJ my kids like, seemingly a pretty healthy item, is still pasteurized and therefore many of the plant nutrients are destroyed. Most baked products use white flour, most sugars are ultra-refined white sugars, the beef is from "cows" that eat grain (thus making them almost a different animal), and so on. The truck driver is an extreme example-- a guy whose job largely prevents exercise or anything remotely resembling healthy eating-- but it's only a moderate exaggeration of what people in midwestern towns are up against. Nowhere to walk, nowhere to get a really good salad, nowhere to get fresh, organic produce of the kinds humans evolved on (although farmer's markets are changing that)... but lots of greasy spoons where $6 gets you about four meals' worth of hash browns fried in Crisco, eggs, and white toast.

Despite all the above pessimism, which is how I normally feel about American food, the movie is really inspiring. We do still have choices! And boy, do they make a difference.